Casinos have a number of games which appeal to a person""s temptation to take a risk, with the hope and expectation that the risk taken at the right time and under the right circumstances will result in a return which far exceeds the investment. A typical casino provides many games to a prospective customer including blackjack, poker, baccarat, roulette, craps and slots.
Recently, progressive games have been introduced into casino play. The progressive game includes a jackpot and participants who wish to wager on the progressive game contributing a fixed wagering amount by token or cash into a jackpot, and if the participant does not win, a portion of his contribution is added to the jackpot. Accordingly the jackpot becomes progressively larger with each unsuccessful bet until a winner is determined.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041 taught a method whereby a progressive game could be offered as a side bet to a game of poker. In our prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,248 we taught a method whereby a progressive game could be offered as a side bet to a game of craps. In our prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,285 we also taught a method whereby a progressive game could be offered as a side bet to a game of baccarat.
Casinos have found that progressive games facilitate in the attraction of players into games, the retention of players who have already engaged in a game, and on the whole, increase table or slot profitability. Casinos are, therefore, seeking to incorporate a supplemental game with each type of game played within the casino.
There are however certain draw backs to incorporating a progressive game into the play at the tables of a casino. First, such games require the programming of a computer to receive impute from all the participating tables and the modification of the gaming tables to receive the associated hardware. Once installed a progressive game will attract participation from players after a sizeable jackpot has been built up, but it will draw little interest for a lengthy period of time during which the jackpot is small following a xe2x80x9cwin.xe2x80x9d Also, the mechanical equipment needed to operate existing progressive games are subject to declaring a false winner or may overlook a legitimate winner. It would be desirable therefore to provide a supplemental reward to the players of a gaming table which would attract participation by players immediately after a xe2x80x9cwin,xe2x80x9d which would not be subject to declaring a false winner or overlooking a true winner, and would not require the modification of gaming tables to receive necessary hardware.
It would also be desirable to provide a non-progressive reward which would interact with a number of different games in the casino. It would also be desirable to have a reward whereby a player at a black jack table could participate and win a portion of a reward jackpot in the event of the occurrence of a given winning combination in a poker hand at a distant table in the casino.
Briefly, the present invention is embodied in a universal non-progressive additional reward wherein a player at a casino is provided the opportunity to wager an additional bet to win the additional reward where there are several types of games with each type game played on a plurality of tables. In accordance with the invention, each gaming table has a playing surface suitable for use by the game for which the playing surface is intended, and all the game tables participating in the universal non-progressive reward have the same predetermined number of play stations, or a multiple of the predetermined number with each play station suitable for use by one player. Each play station also has an identification number or symbol which is one of a set of identification numbers equal in number to the predetermined number, with each number in the set occurring the same number of times at each table.
The game includes an additional reward token or other negotiable item purchasable by a player in advance of play at one of the play tables, the token to be displayed on the play surface at the commencement of the play of a game at a table to designate that the player is wagering in the game for the additional reward.
Each type of casino game has a set of winning conditions under which a player positioned at a given play station is entitled to win a portion of the additional reward. A player at play station number 4 of a blackjack table, for example, would win a portion of the additional reward if he deposits an additional reward token on the table before the commencement of a hand and he was dealt a pair of fours, and the dealer was likewise dealt a pair of fours on both of their first two cards. The set of conditions under which a player at a numbered play station of a blackjack table, therefore, has a winning combination if the cards dealt to both the dealer and the player are identical to the number of his play station.
For roulette, a player at a play station bearing a given number who deposits an additional reward token on the table to participate in the game would win if the player bets on a number associated with his play station, the ball comes to rest in the hole for that number, and the rotating portion of the wheel stops with the ball against a section of the surrounding race which bears the same number as the player""s play position.
A player at a play station of a poker table who has deposited an additional reward token on the table has a winning combination when the dealer has a completed hand of four of a kind and the four cards correspond to the number of his play position.
A player at a slot machine would win if he deposits the maximum number of coins in the machine, including one for the additional reward, and the top award combination occurs on the reels after the handle has been pulled, and the top award includes a number corresponding to the number of the player""s play station.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention there is but one winner of an additional reward for each play. In accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention, when the selected set of conditions for winning a reward occurs for a first player at a first play station having a given first number, a portion of the jackpot is paid to a second player positioned at a second play station for which an additional reward token has been deposited on the table and the number for the play station of the second player is identical to that of the first play station. In this embodiment the first player becomes a primary winner and the second player is a secondary winner, both of whom share in the reward. Any of a number of formulas may be used for apportioning the reward between the first and second players.
The invention further envisions a proxy additional reward wherein a player may wager on the possibility that the additional reward will be won at a play station identified by a number different from the player""s own play station number. The proxy additional reward game may be played by requiring the player to deposit an additional reward token on one or more of the six numbered locations on a betting zone having locations marked for receiving tokes, one location for each of the six play stations.
In our U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,248 we disclosed a craps game and table having six play stations for receiving six players at the game and a progressive game employing a first pair of dice for playing a conventional craps game and a third die for playing the progressive part of the game. Substantially the same rules apply to the game for the non-progressive reward. In the parent to the present application we also disclosed a baccarat game in which a player at a play station with a given number will win a progressive game if the first two cards in the player""s hand and the first two cards in the banker""s hand all bear numbers identical to the number of the play station. Those rules are also useable in playing for a non-progressive reward.
In accordance with the present invention, the players at any combination of a number of types of casino games can vie for the same additional reward. To integrate a number of types of games to compete for a single additional reward, the number of play stations on each game table suitable for vying for the additional reward must be the same for all tables, or a multiple of that number. In the preferred embodiment the play tables of all games will have six play stations to accommodate six players or twelve stations to accommodate twelve players. A gaming table for craps was disclosed in our prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,248 would accommodate six players. The table disclosed by Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041 can be adapted to accept six players and in like manner all of the game tables of each type of game in the casino vying for the additional reward would have six play stations, each of which is numbered one through six, or twelve play stations in two sets of six numbered locations.
The game can be configured such that there is only one winner when a winning combination arises. Alternately, when a first player at a first play station receives a winning combination, the rules can provide that a second player at a second table at a play station having a number identical to that of the first play station will share in the universal additional reward if he has deposited an additional reward token on the table.